A Wonderful Golden Weekend at the Gold Coast!

           So about a week ago, on a weekend when we only had Lucy and Esther, Mick had set up and planned as a belated Valentines present for me and belated birthday gift for him, for us to go to the Gold Coast for the weekend.  I was so thankful to Mick's wonderful parents Jeff and Wendy for watching Lucy and Esther for two nights so that Mick and I could get away!!! 
          Now for those of you who don't know the geography I will explain, the Sunshine Coast where we live is more north and then as you head about an hour south you go through the city of Brisbane, then further south beyond that, about another hour, is the Gold Coast.  The Gold Coast is very much like the Sunshine Coast with gorgeous beaches etc, however it is also a lot more populated and has a much bigger tourist industry...  I could totally see what Mick meant as we got closer and closer to our destination...  And when we finally arrived to Surfer's Paradise I was greeted with a large "city" of skyscrapers, none of which were offices or corporate buildings but one resort after another... Everywhere resorts...  It was awesome... Mick and I stayed at the OutRigger Resort which was a beautiful place and not too cheap, but not the most expensive either.  Our room had an amazing view of the ocean and the city and Mick and I wished we were staying longer!  In the end however, even though we only stayed for one night, it was so much fun!  And such a wonderful break... 

Mick inside our room.

Outside on our balconly.

The view from our room...

            
 That evening we had made plans for Mick to take me to his all time favourite Japanese restruant that he hadn't been to in almost a decade!  So we got all dressed up and found the place on our GPS and I hoped the place was still there, and still as nice as Mick remembered!  A lot can change in ten years... We both certainly know that.. hahah.  But when we arrived we found the resturaunt just as wonderful as ever.  And sure enough on the menu was the dish that Mick had been craving ever since he had it ten years ago.  I cannot remember what it is called, I will have to ask Mick, but simply what it involved was a large plate of chopped raw veggies, and dry rice noodles, and even "fish cakes", and then they brought out a large plate of raw, thinly shaved meat, two bowls of raw egg, and a hot griddle for us to cook on.  Then the Japanese waitress showed us how to cook the veggies first, then pour in the dark savoury sauce and then the meat...  Then we once it was cooked through we pulled it out with chop sticks and dipped it in the raw egg and then ate it over rice... I am getting hungry again just thinking of it!  It was DEVINE!!!  And such a fun dining experience!!!!

About to eat our delicious dinner!!! Yuuummm!!!



Mick is super excited to eat his favourite meal!





There was a GORGEOUS moon out that night and I was determined to capture it!

   

Large ferris wheel in the middle of the city.

    
   Then after dinner we went walking along the coastline and through the very crowed and loud shopping area where we saw about 20 different "hen's night's" - (bachelorette parties) and "expecting-mother-to-be" parties...  It was pretty shocking, some of the things we saw... hmmm.. Including a party with the bride to be dressed in a cheap wedding dress and carring a large, blown up... um part of the male anatomy... As well as another hen's party where all the girls were not only wearing the standard dresscode of the night (short, tight, skimpy, slutty dresses, and hooker heels) but also in this group, every girl was wearing a frizzy, big hair wig...  It was quite a show.  I'm sure we saw many people who were about to have a long, druken night of partying and random sex with random strangers...  And sure enough the next morning as Mick and I rode the elevator down to check out of our hotel we shared it with a very, loud, obnoxious girl, wearing the same dress and heels from the night before all the way down to her frizzy wig, and the guy she went home with... hahaha.  Wow. 
            After we checked out of our room we went to a huge nearby Casino that apparently had the most devine all-you-can-eat morning brunch.  And it certainly did...  In the end as we headed back home to jobs and kids and responsibility Mick and I felt much better. 

The view of the pool while we ate our brunch.

Mick tucking in... ahhh soooo good!